Boom
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: After finding out what happened, Ted confronts Robin about her actions towards Barney. Spoilers for "Tick Tick Tick". References to Barney/Robin


**Disclaimer**: I don't own How I Met Your Mother and never will. No copyright infringement.

**Author's Note**: I'm still depressed over "Tick Tick Tick", but I'm more convinced than ever that Barney/Robin are endgame. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>After he walked in on Barney cleaning up the rose petals, Ted forced his friend to tell him what had happened and was furious by the end of it. "It's going to be okay, I promise."<p>

"Are you high right now?"

"No. Maybe. Okay, yes. But that's beside the point. We're going to fix this and you and Robin will be back together."

"You can try, but I'm going home. It's been a long night." Barney sighed, pinched his nose to hold the tears at bay, and then headed out of Ted and Robin's apartment to go back to his place.

A furious (and still slightly high) Ted rushed down to the bar, having decided to confront Robin. Luckily, Kevin wasn't there anymore. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Robin?"

"Excuse me?"

"What's going on?" A curious Lily stood up and joined them, Marshall following his wife.

"Robin just stomped on Barney's heart is what happened."

"What?" A confused Marshall just stared at his friends.

"Ted, stay out of it. It's none of your business." Robin glared at him and refused to back down. She wasn't about to let him drag this whole mess out of her.

"It is my business because A) It involves two of my friends, and B) Because Barney was just up in our apartment devastated because of what you did. I can understand possibly backing out, but you had the fucking audacity to bring Kevin with you to the place you were supposed to meet and rub it in Barney's face."

"Can someone tell me what is going on here?" Lily tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the answer.

"Barney and Robin slept together and then decided they'd give their relationship another chance. Barney broke up with Nora, but Robin seems to have stayed with Kevin. They were going to meet here at midnight, but that didn't turn out too well." Ted loved Robin – He did, but he was angry with her for hurting Barney like she had. There was no excuse for that. And it was odd, since just four years earlier, he had been angry with him for sleeping with his ex-girlfriend.

"Wait, a second, what? Robin, really? You told me less than three months ago that you were in love with Barney and wanted to get back together. What the hell changed?" Lily was confused and slightly angry herself now.

"I have no clue what is going on." Marshall was starving, and really wanted something to eat again. Robin, Ted, and Lily ignored him.

"You're still in love with him, but you turned him down?" Ted couldn't believe her.

"You don't understand, okay? Kevin told me he loves me and gave me so many good reasons. He's safer than Barney. Barney only wants to be with me because I'm a fuck up like him."

"Oh, you know that's not true. Barney loves you for who are you and he always has. He doesn't care if you're a fuck up because that doesn't matter to him. You've only been dating Kevin for what, about two months? You chose him over the man who's loved you for years? You two make so much sense, Robin! I understand that you're scared, but you can't just stomp on Barney's heat like this. It's cruel." Lily waited expectantly for an answer.

"There's too much at risk here. What if we fuck everything up again? I can't handle it if we did – I barely got through it the first time. Barney fucks every woman in Manhattan, so why would he want me?" Robin struggled not to burst into tears. It had been a rollercoaster of emotions for the past two days, and she didn't think she could handle it anymore.

"Barney never cheated on you. Didn't you mention that to me once? And he's grown up so much in the past few years – Yes, he may have cheated on Nora, but it was you. I'm pretty sure you're the love of his life, his one. And that's huge. And you just turned around and hurt him like Shannon did, possibly even worse." Ted wanted to get through to his friend so she understood what she had done.

"Shit. I really fucked this up, didn't I? He's never going to forgive me." Robin still felt like she had picked the safer choice, but she was deeply regretting her actions now. She sniffled, and Lily rubbed her back to calm her down.

"Yes, you did, but I think you can still fix this. Just give it some time so Barney can get over this." Lily didn't think he'd be up for an apology right now, especially if he was hurting as much as Ted said he was.

"Thanks, guys. I'm tired because it's been a long night, so I'm heading upstairs to go to bed." Robin's head was pounding now, and all she wanted to do was forget about the disaster that had been tonight. She had fucked up badly and realized it, but wasn't sure how to fix it. She loved Barney and still wanted to be with him, but she couldn't get over the hurt and disaster that had been their first shot at a relationship. She needed to Kevin she cheated eventually, but Robin really wasn't ready for that.

"See you in the morning. Marshall, let's go home." Lily grabbed her husband's hand and led him out of the bar. Meanwhile, Ted ordered another drink and sat down in their normal booth. Barney had been on the verge of tears during their talk, and he hadn't seen his friend that vulnerable very often – The last time had been after the disastrous dinner at Jerry's house. He felt extremely overprotective of Barney right now, and Ted had a feeling that wasn't about to go away. He hoped he and Lily had gotten through to Robin. Her behavior tonight had been unacceptable, and he wasn't about to let her get away with it. Part of being a friend was calling the others out on their bullshit. It was then that he came to the realization that what Victoria had predicted in September had come true – The group couldn't continue like this.

Eventually, they would get back together, and a little ways down the road, Barney and Robin married. However, they were both broken in their own ways right now, and the group nearly fell apart in the aftermath.


End file.
